'Sehun-ah! Sehun-ah!'

Luhan began to shake Sehun's shoulders trying to get a response. 

'Hyung! Stop it! Don't touch him!' Lay shouted, pushing him out of the way.

You stepped forward and bent down, gently Sehun's face. 'S-Sehun...' 

There was a cut on his forehead and blood seeped out of it. A few older boys, Jaemin included, came backstage from the audience and helped to lift up the giant scaffolding so that Sehun could be pulled out. Taejoon helped as well, working together with everyone to heave the structure. 

The break went on for a lot longer than planned, needless to say. You sent a text to Suho to tell everyone what was going on. They were worried but you told him that Sehun was just unconcious and that he'd be fine. The ambulance came and checked him over before taking him away to the hospital for extra scans. 

'They said he'll be fine, Han' Taejoon told you as he rubbed your arms. You were shaking and trembling. 

The teacher backstage was running around like a headless chicken, trying to calm the performers waiting in the wings. You had temporarily forgotten about Lay and Luhan until you spotted Lay running his fingers over the strings of a guitar. 

'Lay?...'

'Oh Haneul... Why are you back here?'

'I... I came to see Taejoon'

'Ah'

Lay's breathing quickened.

'Why are you here? Are you going to perform with Luhan?'

'Luhan's performing?'

'Isn't that why you're both back here?'

'I thought Luhan was here to see Sehun?'

'Oh... Maybe he was then... Are you... Going to perform?' 

'I-I don't know...'

'You don't know?'

'I... Well... Maybe'

He wasn't making any sense to you and Lay felt like his heart was going to burst. He begged that you wouldn't ask him why he was performing because he wouldn't have known what to reply. He had overheard Luhan's conversation with Sehun on the phone and had instantly decided that he too would make a stand and fight for you. But now that the time had arrived for him to actually go on stage, he wasn't sure if he could do it. Could he really compete against a friend that was so close to a brother, for the same girl on the same night on the same stage? Could he really bring himself to backstab Luhan like that? 

And you were confused as well. Lay had vowed never to return to the limelight. Luhan had vowed never to sing again. So why were they both here? And where was Luhan now? Everything was a mess and nothing seemed set in stone. 

 

That was until you saw the girl named Seohee come in, hand in hand with Chen. 

'Chen?!'

'Haneul! You were here? Did you get hurt? Is Sehun alright?'

'Sehun's fine. Do you two know each other?' Aaron said, coming to stand between you and Lay. 

Lay frowned a little and walked off. Chen watched him walk away and smirked. Control your emotions better, Lay. Don't get jealous so easily.

'Yeah... You know my song?' Seohee said

'The one you just performed?' 

'Yeah, that one! Well... It was written about Jongdae here... Oh but now you're called Chen, right?'

Chen nodded. 'When you left, I got in a bit of trouble and moved school.' Chen put his arm around Seohee. 'I never thought you'd come back'

Seohee put her arm around Chen's waist. 'I didn't think you would wait for me'

'Ah well, about that...' Chen started to say. You giggled and signalled a throat cutting action. Seohee side eyed Chen and elbowed him. 

'Yah! What did you get up to?!'

'Mianhae, Seohee-ah'

'I heard about you being a ladies man though, so that's old news'

'Oh, you already know?' said Chen surprised.

'Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.' She glared at him. 'You've got some explaining to do, mister!' Seohee said, hitting Chen's head with her fist. 

Chen tapped her nose with his finger and they gazed at each other lovingly. 'We've got a load of catching up to do in general, Seohee-ah'

You smiled as they walked away together, exchanging phone numbers and arranging where to meet after the show. The MC walked out on stage. 

'Hello everyone! We've solved our technical difficulties with ease so can you please all take your seats? The show will begin again in 5 minutes!'

You turned to Aaron. 

'I'm gonna go...'

Aaron held onto your hand. 

'Meet me afterwards, please. Come back here after the show and we'll talk. Is that okay?'

You nodded. 

'I love you, Han'

You gulped and gave him a half hearted and very awkward hug. 'See you later, Taejoon-ah'

'Would it be out of line if I kissed you right now?'

You laughed. 'I'll see you later, alright?'

'Fine, see you later'

 

As you sat down next to D.O, you noticed that Chanyeol hadn't come back. You took out your phone to text him a worried message but Kris put his hand on your phone as if to tell you not to. 

'Wae?' you asked

'He doesn't feel too good at the moment. Don't waste your credit trying to text that pabo'

You put your phone back. If Chanyeol wasn't feeling well, he would most definitely not be in the mood to text you back and with the little money you had as a dorm, wasting credit to text him seemed like a stupid thing to do. Everyone moved up along the seats so you were now seated next to Kris and D.O. Quite frankly, you didn't want to be at the show anymore. 

Your mind was running amock, causing chaos in your head and all you could think about was going home and wrapping yourself up in your duvet so that nothing else could penetrate your thoughts. The thought of Sehun made you feel sick with worry. You were confused as to why Lay and Luhan were both backstage when you knew full well that neither of them would be crazy enough to perform. Unless they have a mighty reason to?... Oh shut up, Haneul. What reason could they possibly have? They must have just been there to help Sehun out. On top of that, you weren't sure whether you were dreading the end of the show to come faster or whether you were willing the show to end. A part of you wanted to accept Taejoon again but there was something there, stopping you, and you didn't know what.

'Hello everyone. Sorry about the delay! We'll get the final few performers out as quick as possible!' said Han Jaekyung in her short dress and heels. 

'Yah! Ppalli! I need to piss!' someone yelled from the back of the auditiorium. 

Everyone laughed. 

'Han Jaekyung, saranghae!' another person yelled. 

The MC laughed. 'Come see me afterwards then, don't interupt the show, araso?!'

'Araso!'

'Good. Alright, now we'll have the last minute entry performers. There are 5 in total and what makes this entire affair all the more interesting is that none of them are from performing arts subjects!'

There was an 'ooooh' and an 'ahhhh' rumbling through the audience.

'I know, right?! Interesting! Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for our first act of the second half of our show, the very very handsome and suave, member of the soccer team, Luhan!'

A ton of girls stood up and screamed. You stood up on your chair to see over them as did the rest of the boys. You couldn't believe it. Why on earth is he on stage?!

You glanced at Kris beside you and he was equally as shocked. D.O's eyes had widened bigger than you had ever seen. Xiumin was standing on his chair too, bless him and he only came down once everyone else had sat down again too. 

'Why is he up there?' you asked Kris.

'I have no idea...'

'Hyung, is it okay for Luhan to be up there?' Chen asked Suho

Suho shook his head and shrugged, completely bewildered. Did he know that Taejoon was going to make a move tonight? From the back of the hall, the tall figure of a certain Park Chanyeol came through the doors. He stopped when he saw Luhan on stage. Memories of the night he had seen you and Luhan together came flooding back. He clenched his fists in anguish. 

Luhan... You like her too?...

He stood there as he watched Luhan among the others, begin to sing. It was a song you knew well, sung in perfect English. You felt yourself laugh a little and your heart warmed. Seeing Luhan on the stage with everyone giving him their full attention- it was something you wished you could have given him. More than anything, he deserved this audience. He deserved every part of this. This was him, reliving his past, making it right. Or at least that was what it seemed like to you. 

To him, not only was he singing about you, for you, but he was also facing his fears. He had worked it into his head that at the end of the song, he would be booed off the stage and his moral would decrease from the 0% it stood at to a minus 100%. Even with the thought of humiliating himself in front of the entire year, Luhan had willed himself to just get out there anyway. The thought of losing you to Taejoon was more than enough to swallow his pride. Added on top of the phone call from a worried Sehun which was playing in his mind, his conscience had told him to just get his out on stage before he regretted it. 

From the curtains, Lay watched forlornly. He saw Luhan, his brother figure, singing out on stage despite everything. It finally dawned on him that perhaps Taejoon wasn't the only competition. Perhaps his worst enemy was actually in insider, rather than an outsider. The saying goes 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer' after all. He gripped the guitar he was holding tightly till there were little ridges imprinted on his palm. As Luhan finished up his song, Lay hid behind the curtain. He didn't want his friend to see him. 

The crowd went wild when it ended- girls were on chairs, boys were clapping and cheering a bit more discreetly and you had the biggest grin on your face. Luhan was surprised by the applause and you could see that his eyes were shining. He beamed and bowed before leaving the stage, walking straight past Lay who had successfully managed to hide himself. 

Luhan rushed out back wanting to go and sit down with his friends but the teacher stopped him. 

'Luhan-ssi, that was amazing!'

'Thank you, ssaem'

'It seems like you're in a rush to leave but you need to stay here until the final act has sung. Then we'll have a bow altogether'

'A bow?'

'Yes, it's mandatory at the end of every performance we put on'

Luhan sighed. 

'Araso, I'll just be outside then.'

 

Lay let out a sigh of relief as he saw Luhan was gone. The MC spotted him looking around. 

'Lay?'

'Huh?'

'You're Lay, right? Come on, you're on stage as soon as I come back'

'W-What? I can't be!'

'You're the last one. Your surname begins with a 'Z' which is why you're the closing act'

'I don't want to go on anymore'

'Well you have to!'

'Please, don't make me!'

'You have to, okay!'

The MC stomped off onstage. So much for a nice Han Jaekyung. She's just another pretty brat. Lay tried to compose himself and took a few deep breaths. In and out. In and out. In and out. He could hear the crowd cheering for him as he shut his eyes. Jaekyung came back and shoved him. 

'Yah, wake up! You're on, alright? It's only a song. Stop making a big deal out of nothing'

Lay nodded, not wanting to start an argument with this temperamental girl. Slowly and anxiously, he stepped out on stage. The lights made his eyes hurt and he was blinded for a few seconds. People clapped and cheered as expected and at that moment, Lay was extremely happy that he didn't know where you, along with everyone else, were sitting and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn't want to know what you thought of him being up on the stage. 

He began to tune his guitar and you heard a few sniggers, most definitely from the idiots that bullied Lay. You began to feel hot and bothered about it and D.O noticed this. 

'Don't make it worse by tempting them'

'But... They're being so rude, D.O-oppa'

'Let them be rude. It's better than fighting them and embarassing Lay when he's already up there'

You nodded. Lay was still carefully strumming the guitar to check everything was okay. You glanced up at Kris who was staring rather intently at Lay. His eyes were narrowed. You're up to something, aren't you, Zhang Yixing? Lay stood up once he was satisfied and bowed to the audience. 

 

'A-A-Annyeonghaseyo, Lay imnida...'

Luhan, who was sitting outside, stood up and rigid when he heard his voice. Lay? What are you doing?

'I'm singing a song tonight by Jam Hsiao. He's an artist I really look up to. The song is in Mandarin though so I hope you won't mind.'

Chanyeol groaned from the back of the hall. Damn it. Now he would have no idea what Lay was saying. He didn't know if Lay would inconspicuously confess just like Luhan and Taejoon had. Perhaps the song isn't about love. It could be about friendship or... Life? It doesn't have to be a love song... Just like Chanyeol, the same thoughts were running through Kai and D.O's minds. They didn't understand Mandarin. Why was Lay on stage? Surely he wouldn't pull out the same card as Luhan and Taejoon? Surely... They were wrong. 

Lay began to play the chords on his guitar and started on a high note. You were impressed. Lay had never shown you how he sang or how he played the guitar. You knew he went on his own mysterious walk abouts by himself to make music but it was always done in secret with no one around. Listening to him singing in his home language, you realised exactly why he was a star in China. 

 

Reviewing the past,

The painful lovesick yearnings are unforgettable.

 

The boys behind you began to stand up and cause a ruckus. You held onto your trouser leg, taking out your anger. Kris placed his hand over yours. 

'Relax. Just ignore those idiots' he whispered

'How can I when they're disrupting everything!' you whispered back. You turned to D.O. 'Oppa!'

'Haneul-ah, I can't do anything about it.' he replied

 

Why do you come then, 

To make my heart race.

How is it possible to stop loving you?

 

The boys began to sing along, making up their own lyrics. People began to turn around and stare at them, no longer focusing on Lay. You also turned around to glare at them and the boy from your class winked at you before beginning to sing over Lay again. 

How rude!

 

Tonight, you should understand,

It is difficult to escape fate, just as it is difficult to dissolve love.

 

Lay stopped playing abruptly. Everyone stared at him. You stood up and clapped nevertheless and eventually everyone else followed in your footsteps. You had understood everything he had played but to you, it was him facing his fears. This entire ordeal was just him and Luhan facing their fears. You were blind to see their hidden confessions to you. 

Lay ran off stage quickly and the MC came out. She thanked everyone for coming and the lights to the auditiorium . You sighed and Kris held out his hand to pull you up. 

'Ah, just go. I need to talk with someone anyway'

'Is it Taejoon-hyung?' said Tao

You nodded. 'Yeah, I'll come back later, don't worry'

Xiumin patted your head. 'We'll go and visit Sehun tomorrow. See you back at home, Haneul-ah'

'I'll be back soon' you replied. 

 

Once everyone had gone, you climbed up onstage and walked through the curtains. Aaron was sitting there as everyone else was outside enjoying the mini after-party. Lay and Luhan were nowhere to be seen. It worried you slightly but you assumed they had just gone back home. 

'You came...'

'Of course. I told you I would. What did you want to say to me?'

'I just... I wanted to know if you felt anything different towards me?'

You sighed. 'Will you give me some time to gather my thoughts before I tell you anything definite? The whole thing with Sehun is sort of stopping me from being rational right now...'

Aaron nodded. 'Of course. I'll wait for you for as long as you need, you know that'

You smiled. 'Thanks.'

As you walked outside together, you saw Jinri and another cluster of people milling around Luhan. He spotted you and ran over, pulling you into a hug. Aaron stood on the side feeling incredibly third wheel. 

'Luhan! You went on stage! I thought you'd never go up there again!'

Luhan shrugged and you could tell something was playing on his mind. You turned to Aaron.

'Taejoon-ah, I'm going to go back home with Luhan. I'll see you around, ne?'

He nodded. 'Yeah, goodnight Han'

'Goodnight' 

Aaron headed over to join the party and you linked your arm with Luhan to begin the walk back to the dorms. 

 

'What's on your mind Luhan?' you asked

'What do you mean? Nothing' he replied

You tutted. 'You really expect me to believe that?'

Luhan sighed. 

'Okay, Haneul. I can't keep this from you'

You frowned. 'What is it?'

'I'm going to tell the others once we get back too so it's okay, it's not a big deal really-'

'What are you talking about?'

'You know I sang tonight?'

'Yeah...'

'Well... I...'

'You?...'

'There was a talent scout tonight. They told me I could sing and I was idol material...'

You screamed. 'Omo, jinja?! Luhan, that's great!' You jumped up and down and ran around Luhan who laughed at your silliness. 'See! You're an amazing singer! Have more faith in yourself, oppa!'

Luhan smiled. 'Haneul-ah, there's more to tell you'

'What else?! What else?!' you asked eagerly. 

'I... I should probably tell you in front of everyone else too'

'What is it? Oh please tell me, Luhan!'

Luhan sighed and looked at you seriously. 

'Haneul-ah... I have to move out'

You froze and stared at him. 

'What...?'

 

 

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omo is all I can say. This update took me so long to write omfg, I wanted to burn my laptop by the end of this. 

why am I only seeing this photo now? Excuse me Zhang Yixing, but I think it's high time for you to take your top off... (I'm already drooling at the sight of his chest and abs oh dear)